YEAR-END REVIEW: PRESIDENT BIDEN DELIVERS FOR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 16, 2021
PRESS CONTACT: [email protected]

YEAR-END REVIEW: PRESIDENT BIDEN DELIVERS FOR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR

As end of 2021 approaches, look-back at Biden-Harris Administration’s actions to uplift communities of color hardest hit by pandemic and economic crisis shows record progress advancing equity, economic opportunity

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Biden and Vice President Harris ran on a plan to build our nation back better, and ensure that communities of color are included in our nation’s recovery. Since taking office, President Biden and Vice President Harris have taken on a pandemic that has disproportionately impacted communities of color and built a strong economic recovery — putting Americans back to work, getting kids back in school, delivering millions of vaccine shots, and more.

Meanwhile, in contrast to President Biden’s steady leadership and decisive actions to fight the pandemic and boost our economy, Republicans in Congress have fought against the administration’s efforts to re-open our economy and get Americans vaccinated every step of the way, including uniformly opposing the American Rescue Plan.

The historic jobs recovery under the Biden-Harris Administration has dramatically reduced unemployment rates for communities of color: 

• Nearly 6 million jobs have been created since President Biden took office — the most of any first year President in history.
• The unemployment rate has dropped at the fastest rate in 50 years since the President took office.
  • The unemployment rate for Black Americans has fallen from 9.2 percent in January to 6.7 percent in November.
  • The unemployment rate for Hispanic Americans has fallen from 8.6 percent in January to 5.2 percent in November.
  • The unemployment rate for Asian Americans has fallen from 6.6 percent in January to 3.8 percent in November.
  • The unemployment rate for Native Americans has fallen from roughly 10.3 percent in January to roughly 6.3 percent in November.

The Biden-Harris Administration is taking on the pandemic by ensuring communities of color have access to the coronavirus vaccine: 

• Over 71 percent of the U.S. population have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and data shows that racial disparities in vaccine uptake have narrowed, and have largely closed for Hispanic Americans.
  • More than half of vaccines administered at federally-run community vaccination centers and more than 75% of people vaccinated at Community Health Centers were given to people of color, including Black, Latino, Native, and Asian Americans.
  • ​Nearly 2 million Americans in Native communities have been vaccinated, and vaccination rates amongst Native Americans are the highest in the country.

• Deaths due to the pandemic have declined by nearly 90% in Black, brown, and Indigenous communities.

• The American Rescue Plan included key funding to improve outreach and education about getting vaccinated in communities of color:
  • $10 billion to increase access to COVID-19 vaccines and build confidence in the hardest-hit and high-risk communities.
  • $785 million to support COVID-19 response and recovery efforts in the hardest-hit and high-risk communities.

President Biden and Democrats in Congress put money into the pockets of parents and workers of color, and cut taxes for working and middle class families: 

• 171 million stimulus checks of up to $1,400 were delivered to Americans, including millions of people of color.
  • The Administration expanded eligibility for these checks to include over 5 million mixed-status family members, including nearly 3.7 million children and more than 1.4 million spouses.

• Thanks to the expanded Child Tax Credit, monthly checks of up to $300 per child have been sent to roughly 35 million households, which was projected to cut child poverty nearly in half. These tax cuts benefited:
  • Over 17.5 million Latino children, projected to lift nearly 4.5 million Latinos out of poverty.
  • Nearly 9.4 million Black children, projected to lift nearly 3 million Black Americans out of poverty.
  • Nearly 2.8 million Asian children, projected to lift nearly 600,000 Asian Americans out of poverty.
• Expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit to include more workers and provides nearly three times the previous benefit amount, assisting over 17 million workers. These tax cuts benefited:
  • Roughly 2.8 million Latinos.
  • Roughly 2.8 million Black Americans.
  • Roughly 700,000 Asian Americans.

Since the President took office, his Administration has expanded access to health care and lowered health care costs, including for communities of color: 

• An expansion of health care access through the Affordable Care Act that lowered health care premiums for 9 million Americans by $50 a month. This expansion benefited:
  • 730,000 Latinos.
  • 360,000 Black Americans.
  • Nearly 200,000 Asian Americans.

The Biden-Administration has made it a priority that students of color have access to a quality education, including ensuring schools safely re-opened: 

• Provided over $36 billion in American Rescue Plan funding to institutions of higher education:
  • This included critical funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions and funding for students to apply for financial aid from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund regardless of citizenship.
  • Along with other pandemic relief programs, HBCUs received nearly $3.7 billion in funding.
• At the K-12 level, 99% of students — nearly 45 million children — and 99% of school districts have returned to in-person instruction.
• The American Rescue Plan included $19 million in grants to ensure the survival and vitality of Native American languages to advance equity for Native children.

Under President Biden, minority-owned small businesses received support from the Administration and have been able to safely re-open: 

• Provided $28.6 billion through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund to help restaurants hit hard by the pandemic.
  • This funding benefitted over 100,000 businesses throughout the country.

• Released $8.7 billion from the Emergency Capital Investment Program to increase lending to small and minority-owned businesses and people living in communities with limited access to banking.
• Directed $7.25 billion in additional funds for the Paycheck Protection Program to help businesses keep workers on payroll.
  • Extended Paycheck Protection Program loan eligibility to include legal residents to address the disparity in assistance for immigrant-owned businesses, as well as to entrepreneurs with certain past criminal records.
• Provided billions in loans to minority-owned small businesses in fiscal year 2021 through the Small Business Administration’s core lending programs, including:
  • Over $2.7 billion in loans to Latino owned small businesses
  • Over $1 billion in loans to Black owned small businesses
  • $8.6 billion in loans to AAPI owned small businesses
  • Nearly $300 million in loans to Native American owned small businesses
• Delivered $15 billion to businesses in under-served communities, especially minority-owned businesses, via the Economic Injury Disaster Loan grants program.

President Biden and leaders in Congress have taken a range of additional actions to deliver for communities of color, including: 

• Freed up over $9 billion in federal disaster funds for Puerto Rico, including $1.3 billion to guard against future climate-related disasters.
• Extended relief to more than 300,000 immigrants by extending Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans, Haitians, Hondurans, and Nicaraguans, and designated Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans.
• 2,234 families have been reunited since President Biden took office and more are currently in the process of being reunited with their families after the previous administration separated almost 4,000 children from their families.

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